Zutara Week 2018
by obsessed9670
Summary: My entries for Zutara Week 2018, a series of short one-shots, though they could all technically take place in the same headcanon. Rated K through T.
1. First Kiss

"Zuko, you need to calm down." Katara was sat on their bed going through some scrolls in preparation for tomorrow morning's council meeting.

"Calm down!? How can I be calm right now?! We're facing a major crisis!" Zuko was pacing around the room; hands waving about and getting more animated as his frustration grew. "We have to do something," he exclaimed, "we have to stop this!" He turned to look at Katara. She sighed and looked up to meet her husband's exasperated gaze.

"I did try to warn you, my love," a soft smile spreading across her face. "Following them was never going to turn out well."

"But why did that have to happen?!" Zuko whined, dropping to sit on the end of the bed with his head in his hands. Katara chuckled at his melodramatics.

"Oh thanks a lot," he cried. She smiled lovingly at him as she put down her scrolls and crawled off the bed, moving round to kneel in front of him, taking his hands in hers.

"I'm sorry almighty Fire Lord, but there are some things even you just can't control. It was going to happen sooner or later." She placed a hand on his scarred cheek and he lifted his gaze to meet hers, her eyes filled with a sadness. "Though it pains me to admit it, Izumi's not our little baby any more." Zuko sighed and pulled his wife into his lap. She relaxed into him as she recounted their daughter's excitement at her new friend being permitted to stay in the palace for a few days. "She's 15, Zuko, and has been gushing about this Kuzo boy for weeks now."

Zuko chuckled softly as he thought about how their last few family dinners had gone. Izumi had been very talkative when asked if she was settling into her new class okay.

"You even had Jee run background checks on him and his entire family, so don't tell me you weren't expecting something to happen between them this evening," Katara teased.

"I know, I know," he said with a smile. "I just didn't think I'd have to witness anything myself for a few years yet," he said through gritted teeth.

"Well, my dear, if you didn't want to see your daughter kissing her boyfriend, you shouldn't have hidden in that tree!"


	2. Letters

For the attention of:

Ambassador Katara of the Southern Water Tribe

You are hereby invited, by request of Fire Lord Zuko, to attend the fourth anniversary celebrations of His Lordships coronation, to be held in Royal Caldera City.

Please confirm your attendance and date of arrival, upon which a room will be prepared for you within the Royal Palace.

With respect,

The Royal Chief of Staff

—–

My Dearest, Katara,

Firstly, allow me to apologise for the ridiculous invitation enclosed with this letter. I informed my council multiple times that you would obviously not be requiring a formal invitation but they insisted upon it, 'for appearances sake'. Don't even get me started on that 'a room will be prepared for you' nonsense. They are all idiots if they think you will be staying anywhere other than in my suite.

Your father's invitation, along with Sokka and Suki's, is in the other envelope. Even though they already know when you'll all be returning, I fear the council may self-destruct if proper protocol isn't followed, so it's probably best if we all indulge them on this and your father sends a formal acceptance like normal. Sorry.

Time moves slower when you are not here, my love. I know you've only been away a couple of weeks, but I already miss your company in my council meetings. Everything is so much easier with you by my side; the nation, our nation, loses out when you are not here.

I took a walk through the markets today to get away from the nobility. Your absence was noticed by many of the citizens. An elderly lady asked about when you would be returning to the Fire Nation for good. I couldn't help but smile, but I told her I surely didn't know what she was referring to. I wish I could've said otherwise. The people adore you, Katara.

You know how much I hate the formal balls the nobles insist upon for these events, but I find myself impatient for this one. I can't wait to finally announce our engagement. I'm tired of hiding us in the shadows.

I eagerly await your return, my Queen.

Zuko

P.S. I've enclosed some fire flakes for Sokka. Please tell him I will accept seal jerky as payment.


	3. Tea

By now, the council knew that if you wanted to have a productive meeting with the Fire Lord, you avoided the early afternoon slots. Their Lord was always preoccupied by the clock on the wall during these hours, and would excuse himself as soon as the time-piece struck 3 hours past highest sun.

The Fire Lord was, without fail, most amenable when he returned an hour later. It wasn't unusual for more decisions to be made and policies approved and signed in the few hours between his disappearance and dinner than across the rest of the day combined.

The council were ever thankful for their Lord's ritual of afternoon tea with his Lady.


	4. Turtleducks

Zuko was tired. So very tired. Exhausted even. For the past two weeks he'd been getting up hours before the sunrise and not getting to bed until the early hours of the next morning. He was reaching his limit.

The tenth annual peace summit was only a few days away now. Dignitaries had been arriving from the other nations all week, filling the Royal Palace with activity, the usual sea of red robes replaced by a more multicoloured landscape. Naturally, Zuko was ever grateful that there was a continued state of relative peace between the nations for them to celebrate - Agni knows he works himself to his bones to maintain it - but if he's honest with himself, he could do without the level of pomp and ceremony surrounding the summit. He really couldn't face having to sign off on another banquet menu - just how many banquets can you have in one week?!

He was therefore very pleased with himself when he managed to wrap up his last meeting of the afternoon early and sneak back to his and Katara's chambers unnoticed for a quick pre-dinner nap. 'Finally.' he thought to himself, collapsing on the bed, only bothering to remove his crown because he didn't want the pin to stab him in the back of the head… again.

At least he thought he escaped unnoticed.

Zuko was just starting to doze off when he heard it. The pitter-patter of tiny feet in the corridor outside. He cursed internally. He was doomed. Sure enough, the feet stopped outside the chamber door, and after a short pause, there was a timid knock on the door.

"Daddy?"

"Yes sweetheart, come in." Zuko sat up as his and Katra's five year old daughter, Izumi, pushed open the door slightly and slipped into the room. Zuko smiled at his child and opened his arms to her. She clambered up onto the bed and deposited herself in his lap. Her golden eyes stared into his as her hands started to play with his top-knot. Zuko still didn't know how he got so lucky.

"Daddy, where 's your crown?", Izumi asked. Zuko chuckled.

"I thought you liked playing with my hair love? If I was wearing my crown, you wouldn't be able to."

"I knew that Daddy, but Mummy says you have a crown because you're in charge. Are you not in charge any more Daddy?"

"No, Daddy's still in charge honey, but only outside."

Izumi stopped playing with his hair for a moment. "Does that mean Mummy's in charge when you're in here?"

Zuko nearly choked. "Not quite sweetheart. Let's just say that Mummy and I are both in charge. After all, she has a crown too." He breathed a sigh of relief when she seemed to accept this argument and went back to playing with his hair. "Daddy took his crown off because he was going to have a sleep before dinner."

Her face fell.

"Oh." She looked down and started to fidgit. Zuko immediately regretted whatever he'd said to upset her.

"What's wrong sweetie?"

"Well, I was wondering…" She trailed off, looking everywhere except at Zuko.

"Honey, it's okay, what is it?" He was worried now.

"… Can we go and feed the turtleducks please?" She looked up at him with innocent eyes. He sighed. He could never say no to his little turtleduck.

"Well, you better help me put my crown back on then."


	5. Crystals

They said the second child would be easier. Katara wholeheartedly disagreed.

Izumi had been a relatively easy pregnancy. Katara had been able to control her morning sickness most of the time and, apart from a persistent craving for fire flakes, had managed to keep to a fairly normal diet (unlike Suki when she was expecting). Continuing with her Fire Lady duties didn't seem to put even the slightest strain on her right up until the last few weeks, and even the birth went smoothly. Though Zuko did faint when he heard she'd gone into labour.

Yes, Izumi had been easy. Little Lu Ten, however, was giving her a run for her money.

Katara was certain she was carrying a boy this time - she'd been right about Izumi after all. Her and Zuko had decided upon his late cousin's name relatively early on, but were holding off until their little bundle arrived before telling Uncle, just in case. Like any expectant parents would be, they were excited for their new blessing, and Izumi was looking forward to having a younger brother.

It started out the same as before. Katara hardly suffered from morning sickness at all during her first trimester and was confident that she would sail through the next few months like clockwork, just as the other healers had told her. Then came the sweats. She swore to La she'd never been so hot in all her life. Last summer's heatwave felt like her beloved South Pole in comparison. Zuko had even taken to sleeping on the lounge chair in their chambers to try and make her more comfortable. Katara stressed that he really didn't have to do that for her, she'd be fine with him using one of the palace's many other bedrooms for a while, but he flat-out refused to leave her side when she was suffering like this. He was concerned for her. Despite her discomfort, she still insisted on attending every council meeting, sitting beside her husband behind his wall of flames. Zuko wasn't happy about this, but he knew she wouldn't be convinced otherwise.

Then, 'the incident' happened. Katara had awoken one morning drenched in sweat, as had become the norm; but this time she felt a dull ache at the back of her head. Dismissing it as tiredness, she continued with her morning as planned, and all but forgot about her headache. Come lunchtime, she was pleased that she seemed to be over the worst of it and was looking forward to taking some nobles down a peg or two in the afternoon council meeting. It started off fine. She had listened whilst the nations most influencial people gave Zuko their reports, interjecting with questions and opinions where she thought appropriate; everything seemed normal.

She didn't remember what happened next. All she knew was that she woke up in her and Zuko's bed, surrounded by healers and with her hand clasped between her husband's. He looked terrified. She noticed his eyes were slightly red, like he'd been crying, and he leapt to kiss her forehead when she whispered his name. He told her she'd fainted during the council meeting. Katara's hand went straight to her slightly curved abdomen, and was relieved when she felt the small nudges she'd started to notice a few days ago. When she went to get up, Zuko had looked at her in horror and immediately asked what she was doing. After she said she was going back to the meeting, he carefully explained to her that she'd been unconscious for almost a week. The palace healers advised her to withdraw from her duties, as this was clearly going to be a difficult pregnancy. Katara reluctantly agreed; if not for her sake, then for Zuko's and the baby's.

Whilst she managed to avoid any more 'incidents', the rest of Katara's pregnancy was hardly plain sailing. Most noticable was the sudden appearance of intense and, most interestingly, varied cravings. First it was fire flakes, like before. Then sea prunes. She would sit in the palace kitchens eating bowls of the southern delicacy as fast as the chef's could make it. Next was sugar. She could often be found wandering the palace gardens with a box of jennamite, the creeping crystal rock candy she'd once almost been encased in all those years ago. That particular craving seemed to stick, lasting right to the end of her third trimester.

The birth was long, but there were no complications. And Zuko only nearly fainted this time.

It was a boy. Uncle cried.


	6. Bloodbending

Katara was trying so hard. Every second of every day she played the part she signed up for. She studied, she listened and she observed, giving everything she had to serve her new nation, but it was never enough for some people. She'd been Fire Lady for 6 months now and, whilst she had started to win the hearts of the common people, the majority of the nobility Katara encountered in the palace still hadn't accepted her. Whilst they knew better than to disparage her in front of the Fire Lord, they made no effort to lower their voices when they were in her presence alone. Most of the palace staff had seen her and Zuko sparring together at one point or another, so they knew she was a formidable bender, but the council didn't believe these whispered rumours that spoke of her power. Some days she wondered if they'd ever truely respect her.

Nevertheless, Katara persisted. She held her head high whilst she developed policy, ignored the cold stares as she conducted state visits, and, much to the council's annoyance, attended every council meeting at Zuko's side. As time went by, her confidence only grew. She began to challenge ministers on their flawed legislation and question Generals and Admirals when she didn't agree with their strategy. Spurred on by Zuko's proud smiles, these every-day victories over the higher classes helped ease her frustration with what they said about her behind her back.

One night, Zuko's presence was requested at an emergency meeting to discuss a worrying report of rebels assembling in some outer villages of the Fire Nation. These 'emergency' meetings had almost become routine now, and the reports usually turned out to be nothing, but Katara offered to attend with Zuko regardless. It was a full moon that night, so she was going to be awake anyway. Usually she'd practice her bending, but she'd happily trade the sparring arena for the opportunity to bring some nobles down a peg or two any day.

Katara sat on her throne next to Zuko as one of the newer Generals gave an account of the activities he'd witnessed earlier that day. She smiled as, despite his best efforts, Zuko started to drift off next to her. He never was much use after sun-down (not that he'd admit it), and the young man was rather dragging on. She was just about to subtly lean across and give Zuko a playful nudge when she felt it. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Something wasn't right. She took hold of the water sitting underneath the grate surrounding her side of the dais, thanking La that Zuko had thought of the modification, and looked around the room ready to strike. But she couldn't see anything different. The council were all still listening to the General, the doors to the chamber were closed with two guards positioned in front of them, and the imperial firebenders stationed at each side of the raised platform where she and Zuko sat were perfectly still as normal. Katara frowned and let her grip on the water go. She closed her eyes and reached out further with her bending, looking for any indication that something was about to happen. She found it. One of the imperial firebenders was sweating ever so slightly; she could feel the liquid on his face.

Katara opened her eyes just as the guard leapt forward into a bending stance, but he stalled and the flames never came to his hands. Zuko and the council all turned at the sudden commotion, but when they realised what the firebender had tried to do, their eyes turned to Katara. She was stood above them all with her hands in a twisted form; her face a picture of perfect concentration. The assassin's eyes held only fear as Katara moved her arms downward in a sweeping motion, forcing his body to the ground. She could feel his heart racing, the beating sound filling her head as she manipulated his limbs. She searched for the pulse point in his neck and clenched her fists, restricting the flow and causing him to faint. With one hand still gripping the man's blood out of caution, she moved the other to reach for her hidden bending water, encasing the traitor in ice thick enough to withstand even one of Zuko's fire blasts. Only when she was completely satisfied that there was no longer a threat did she let go, returning her attention to the rest of the room.

All eyes were on her. She sought out Zuko's first. He'd seen her bloodbend before when they were searching for Yon Rha, but she could see he was still in shock from watching her save him from the apparent attempt on his life. When she turned to the council she was met with a sea of frightened faces; horror evident in their eyes as they processed what she had just done. In that moment, they feared her more than they ever thought possible.

Then the moment passed. Zuko broke the stunned silence by leaping to his feet, shouting out orders left, right and centre. The rest of the night passed by in a panicked blur.

The next day everyone in the palace gave Katara a wide berth. She never heard whispers behind her back again.


	7. Element Swap

Katara felt like she was burning alive. The heat ripped through her like a foreign force. She could feel the raw power coarsing through her veins, consuming her as it searched for an escape. She tilted her head up in a silent scream and flames leapt from her mouth, burning everything they came into contact with. Katara moved to clasp her hands over her mouth in fear, but heat spilled from her fingertips as she swayed her arms, the flames leaving black lines where they touched the walls of the room. She recoiled in horror as she surveyed her work.

Every movement she made seemed only to bring destruction.

Zuko had never felt so cold. Instead of a warmth in the pit of his stomach, he felt only isolation. He used to create his element from within, constantly connected to it. But now he had to search it out. Slowly, he extended an arm forward from his huddled form, reaching for a connection - any connection. He closed his eyes and searched as he shivered. Nothing. A single tear froze to his cheek.

He had never felt so alone.


End file.
